American Go E-Journal » U.S./North America

“People having been playing go for 4000 years,” says the Seattle Go Center. “And people have been eating cheese for 4000 years. But they were usually not the same people, until the Seattle Go Center invented Tuesday Pizza Night, where we play go and eat cheese pizza in the same room (but at different tables). We usually have fresh baked bread to share as well.”

This week 40 players, ranging in age from 5 years old to over 80, turned out for pizza and some of Chris Kirschner’s freshly-baked loaves of bread. “Four visitors were new to the Go Center, but had played a little on their own,” reports club manager Brian Allen. “Millie is back after touring with her band. Alex is moving to New York City – he will be looking for go players there.”photo: at the November 13 Pizza Go Night; photo by Brian Allen

A few years back, the American Go Foundation came into possession of almost all of the remaining print copies of Go Worldmagazine. Now that GW is ceasing publication, the AGF is offering its complete inventory for sale to all current AGA members. There have been other offers in conjunction with AGA membership drives, but several rare issues were held back. Now for the first time, any AGA member can purchase any issue in the AGF inventory — while supplies last. First come first served! GW is also available digitally, but for those who like the real thing, this is it, and when they’re gone, they’re gone forever. We’re just saying . . . If you want to round out your collection, you’ll find back issues that have never been available before: in some cases, fewer than ten issues remain. Or, if you’d like a good old-fashioned pile of magazines to leaf through, packed with top level game analysis, instructional material and other features, many issues are available for just $2 ($1 plus $1 S/H) or less. FREE SAMPLE: If you have never experienced Go World, click here to download a sample issue exclusively through the AGF. Click here to learn how to take advantage of this special offer. Shipping within the US only. If you’re not an AGA member, there’s never been a better time to join!

DC-area go players are being invited to play in a free 2-round friendship tournament Sunday, December 2 against the Hope Chinese School (HCS) in Fairfax, VA. In addition to an opportunity for fun competition, organizers hope the event will help them recruit some local go teachers for the school. “We love to hold go classes in our school because we know go is great for students,” says principal Dinny Li. A national volunteer-run school system run by volunteers, HCS has six chapters in DC metro area, and HCS-Fairfax has nearly 1,000 students registered to study Chinese and extracurricular subjects on weekend, but was forced to discontinue its go program due to a lack of go teachers. The December 2 friendship tournament runs from 1-5p at Annandale High School, 4700 Medford Drive in Annandale VA. Registration is free but AGA membership is required. Click here to register; for more info, contact Edward Zhang at zhiyuanz@gmail.com.photo: at the 12th Chinese Culture Festival in 20120

Six top KGS players battle it out today for a shot at the KGS Meijin finals. The winner of today’s first semi-final — Cornel 7d, DuguXin 5d, fj 5d, Koffein 4d, kvv 4d or YellowBell 6d – will play the winner of next weekend’s semi in the Meijin playoff in December, with $600 in prizes at stake; $500 to the first-place winner and $100 to the runner-up. The online tournament to determine the online go server’s top player is run and sponsored by KGS founder Bill Schubert himself, reports KGS’ Akane Negishi. “Expect to see some exciting games!” she promises. In addition to the cash prize, “the winner gets a special icon and a KGS T-shirt,” Negishi adds. The 12 semi-finalists qualified in monthly tournaments on KGS this year.

Hungarian Open Championship 2012 (11/22): The Hungarian Open Championship, played 11/17-18 in Budapest, Hungary, was won by Pal Balogh 6d (right), in second was Csaba Mero 6d and third was Koichiro Habu 4d… Romanian Team Championship- FINAL 2012 (11/22): Romanian Team Championship- FINAL 2012, played on 11/10-11 in Brasov, Romania, was won by Lucretiu Calota 5d (left), in second was Ionel Santa 2d and third was Florin Laurentiu 1k… EuroGoTV is looking for a Sales Manager (11/21): EuroGoTV is looking for a sales and marketing representative; for more details contact sales@eurogotv.com… Super broadcast weekend November 23-25 (11/21): This weekend 4 mayor tournaments will be relayed to both KGS and EuroGoTV. The Berline Kranich, Finals of the Russian Championship, Tournament for Three Golden Ounces and the title Go Baron, and The Finnisch Korean Ambassadors Cup… UCC Open 2012 (11/20): The UCC Open 2012, played on 11/17-18 in Cork, Republic of Ireland, was won by Kim Ouweleen 4d, in second was Gavin Rooney 3d and third was Claal Roever 2k… Bielsko-Biala 2012 (11/20): The Bielsko-Biala, played on 11/17 in Bielsko-Biala, Poland, was won by Marcel Zantman 4k, in second was Tomasz Posolec 5k and third was Bogdan Kruk 4k… 15. Go to Innovation 2012 (11/20): The 15. Go to Innovation, played on 11/16-18 in Berlin, Germany, was won by Jin Zou 6d, in second was Ondrej Silt 6d and third was Lukas Podpera 5d… Galati- Romanian Cup under 1kyu 2012 (11/20): The Galati- Romanian Cup under 1kyu, played on 11/16 in Galati, Romania, was won by Sandu Teodor 2k, second was Iulian Ilie 2k and third was Elian Ioan Grigoriu 2k… 460th Velika Gorica weekend-go-tournament 2012 (11/19): The 460th Velika Gorica weekend-go-tournament, played on 11/17 in Velika Gorica, Croatia, was won by Zvonko Bednjanec 3k, in second was Mladen Smud 1k and third was Drazen Odobasic 18k… Gosente Mini Handicap Tournament 2012 (11/19): The Gosente Mini Handicap Tournament, played on 11/17 in Riga, Latvia, was won by Juris Caics 5k, in second was Dmitrij Kravchenko 3k and third was Natalia Nikulina 14k… The Finnish Championship League 2012 (11/19): The Finnish Championship League 2012, played on 11/16-18 in Vantaa, Finland, was won by Juri Kuronen 5d, secound was Antti Tormanen 6d and third was Javier-Aleksi Savolainen 5d… Yunguseng Dojang opens up registration for its 5th season (11/18): 100% Internet-based program, operated by In-seong Hwang 8 Dan, has been running successfully for over a year-and-a-half. And with 70 members in the current season, it has quickly become one of the largest online go schools in Europe with five major key feature among which are five games personally reviewed games by In-seong himself.- excerpted fromEuroGoTV, which includes complete winner reports, crosstabs and photos. Edited by Taylor Litteral

The American Go Foundation, devoted to promoting go in the US, has decided to work more closely than ever with AGA chapters. The AGF Store – containing unique and valuable promotional materials – has previously only been available to approved AGF teaching programs, but now any AGA chapter can purchase unlimited quantities of anything from the AGF’s Teaching, Promotional, and Prize pages.
So if your AGA chapter is in the market for a demo board, a beautiful go-themed ukiyo-e print or copies of The Way To Go, you’re in luck. “We have put together a unique inventory of valuable materials for AGA chapters, so we hope they will use them to grow,” said AGF President Terry Benson. Other benefits, including how the AGF can help you to do some serious fundraising, are described in full here.Note: playing equipment is still only available to teaching programs.

The AGA Board voted to approve funding for the College Matching Program at its October meeting. Originally launched by former AGA President Mike Lash, the program allowed college clubs to receive financial support for starting go clubs. The program was canceled when the AGA lost Ing funding several years ago, but has now been re-approved. Colleges can apply to be AGF programs, which gains them access to go equipment from the AGF store. Although no equipment is provided free, the AGA will pay for half of any purchases, up to $50, or up to $100 if the program is also an AGA Chapter. As the AGF store is a non-profit, full board sets can be purchased for just $10. Equipment can only be used for in club play though, not for any specific individuals, and may not be resold. Colleges also gain access to items like Hikaru no Go for the library, go books, and a host of AGF resources for supporting clubs. More information can be found on the new AGF page for the program here.-Story and photo by Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor.

Just back from extensive filming in Asia, The Surrounding Game documentary team is now in post-production. “We’ve hired an assistant editor to prep us for the editing and organizational process,” reports co-director Cole Pruitt. “We’re now in the process of transcoding, logging, and labeling all of our footage, which totals over 200 hours and includes several languages, countries, and of course, dozens and dozens of go players!” The filmmakers expect to begin fulfilling promised rewards to Kickstarter backers “as the materials trickle in,” Pruitt adds, while they continue to do “small bits of filming here and there” to assemble the last pieces. “We’re extremely grateful for the continued support of the American and international go communities and are looking forward to the next several months of making the film,” Pruitt says. With some 30 hours of interviews in Chinese or Korean, the filmmakers are looking for translation help. “These exclusive interviews include Chang Hao 9P, Lee Sedol 9P, the editor-in-chief of the World of Weiqi magazine, and several more high-profile figures,” says Pruitt, “so this a chance to see them before anyone else!” Translators need to be fluent readers/speakers in English and Chinese or Korean. Anyone interested should email surroundinggame@gmail.com.photo: Co-director Will Lockhart (l), photographer Colin Sonner (middle) and Field Producer/Translator Cherry Shen (r) interview an 11-year-old Chinese 5 dan and her father in Shanghai at the Holiday Go Club; photo by Nik Gonzales

by Dr. Roy Laird
At Intermediate School 318 in Brooklyn, three out of every four students qualify for free lunch, but when it comes to spirit, support and pure brain power, some of them have plenty of resources. In fact, as we learn in Brooklyn Castle, the award-winning new documentary from Kelly Dellamaggiore, IS 318 is home to some of the strongest young chess players in the country; the school’s teams have brought home nearly 30 national championships. As a longtime proponent of go in the schools, I found the film to be an inspiring reminder of what mind sports can do for kids. Brooklyn Castle follows five members of the 2009-2010 team, each with their own goal. Rochelle Ballantyne wants to be the first African-American female Master level (ELO 2000) player (11/18 update: she made it, with a new rating of 2057 following the recent World Youth Chess Championship in Maribor, Slovenia). Patrick Johnston, on the other hand, just wants a positive result so he can raise his ranking out of the 400s. (Spoiler alert: chess seems to help him with some attention issues he had in earlier grades; he emerges from middle school as an honor student.) As the students pursue their dreams, we are reminded that behind every dream is a team. With support from the school’s budget, fundraising efforts and help from foundations such as Chess-In-The-Schools, school staff go far beyond the call of duty, for instance taking 57 players of all levels to the National Championship in Dallas. That’s 57 potentially life-altering experiences right there. Chess-loving children apply from far and wide because they know that all sixth grade students are required to take at least one period of chess per week; in seventh and eighth grade it becomes an elective, but students can schedule up to seven periods of chess per week. We also meet the players’ families and see the crucial role their support plays. The team’s toughest opponent turns out to be a succession of budget cuts that threatens to take them out of a national competition they know they can win. Hurry if you want to see it in theaters, although the low-tech sound and video quality may be better suited for a smaller screen. You can also read about the school at length in How Children Succeed by Paul Tough.

Brooklyn Castle – in theaters now — vividly highlights the benefits of school-based mind sports programs. (Post-film progress report: As reported in The New York Times earlier this year, five players from IS 318 achieved the equivalent of a college baseball team winning the World Series, becoming the first middle school team to win the National High School Championship!) Go is also a wonderful arena for this kind of growth and development, in some ways even better than chess. If you’re thinking of starting a go program in your community, The American Go Foundation can help you with free equipment, matching funds, mentoring and much more – you’ll be surprised how easy it can be, and how rewarding for teacher and student alike.- Laird, a former President of the American Go Association, currently serves on the Board of the American Go Foundation and manages school-based mental health clinics for The Children’s Aid Society in New York City.

Sponsored by The International Go Federation with additional support from The American Go Foundation, the conference was presented by organizers from the The American Go Association and the 2012 US Go Congress. This was the first such gathering since 2008, and 25 speakers eagerly seized the chance to present their latest findings to more than 100 registered participants. The Symposium offered something for just about everyone – programming enthusiasts, history buffs, anthropologists, teachers, organizers, and of course players. Papers and links associated with these presentations are available here. In the coming weeks we will profile some of the more remarkable videos, but don’t let that stop you from checking it out in the meantime.